{"id":515380,"date":"2025-10-20T15:33:48","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T19:33:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/magazine\/?p=515380"},"modified":"2025-10-21T11:31:50","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T15:31:50","slug":"internships-with-impact","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/magazine\/internships-with-impact\/","title":{"rendered":"Internships With Impact"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n

Eleven students. Twelve weeks. One new program with a big impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Business HIRE (High-Impact Rural Experience)<\/a> matches Poole students with full-time, paid internships at rural North Carolina businesses. The program\u2019s first cohort spent the summer immersed in nine different counties, building both personal and professional relationships while gaining real-world work experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to an NC State University Foundation grant, they earned $25 per hour, a rate well above the national average for internships. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The program also created a unique opportunity for the companies to tap into emerging talent, says Tyler Wiersma, Poole College\u2019s director of high-impact experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSome rural employers might not have resources or reach to recruit Poole students,\u201d he says. \u201cWe want to ensure we are serving all North Carolina communities, and Business HIRE gives us the opportunity to connect our students with employers throughout the state and develop new talent pipelines to help level the playing field.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read on to meet a few of the students who helped make this first year of Business HIRE a success:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Melissa Quinonez Mejia<\/strong>
Gill and Spore Mushroom Farm<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
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\"one<\/figure>\n\n\n
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Junior Melissa Quinonez Mejia (left) working at Gill and Spore Mushroom Farm in Louisburg, N.C. with NC State alumna Donia Jabbour.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"mushrooms\"<\/figure>\n\n\n <\/div>\n\n\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n

Junior Melissa Quinonez Mejia spent her summer turning mushrooms into opportunity at Gill and Spore Mushroom Farm in Louisburg, a woman-owned business founded by NC State alumna Donia Jabbour (\u201820, Food Science). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quinonez Mejia managed farmers market booths in Raleigh and Cary, doing everything from setting up displays and handling transactions to creating social media content and educating customers about specialty mushrooms.<\/p>\n\n\n